DISNEY BRINGS LIFE TO MY DAUGHTER

Casey is a 29 year old wife and mother of four girls ages 7 and under. Two of her four children have been diagnosed with Albinism and Sensory Processing Disorder. As a result, her life can be challenging at times, but her family tries to add "Disney attitude" on a daily basis to make the hard times easier. Casey has gone to Walt Disney World every year since she was a young child and strives to carry out this annual tradition with her own children. But in between the trips, Casey and her family do their best to bring Disney into their daily lives.

Photo credit: Disney Photopass

As a mom you always want and expect that, when you have a child, he or she will be perfect, and nothing will go wrong. With my first born that was the case. She was just what a newborn, infant, and toddler should be. With my second one, however, we immediately saw signs after birth that something was off. Our second daughter, Madison, would not take a bottle of any kind or eat. We noticed that her eyes were always moving back and forth, and she was not focusing the way she should be. At 4 months old Madison was diagnosed with Albinism, which means that she lacks pigment in the hair, skin, and eyes. Due to lack of pigment in her eyes, she has low vision.

Photo credit: Disney Photopass

At first my husband and I were shocked — we had no clue what to do — but we soon got her into vision and orientation and mobility therapy, and she started to learn how to use her vision. As her mom, though, I knew something was still off, and there was more than Albinism going on. At almost a year she still would hardly eat, and she was even failure to thrive at one point. She would cry all day long. I can’t explain it, but, as her mother, I just knew there was something else wrong. Soon after she turned one, she was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. Basically, there are times where she goes into sensory overload, and her brain doesn’t know how to deal with it. We got her into therapy and did things at home to help her sensory system, and we soon learned what to do to help her when she goes into overload. A lot of the things we do actually involve Disney!

We have since had another child with Albinism and Sensory Processing Disorder, and it is a daily battle. Thanks to themed items from movies like Disney’s Cars and Beauty and the Beast, we have found tools that calm our children down and help them with their senses. For instance, Madison loves the movie Cars. When she would refuse to wear shoes because they didn’t feel right to her, we were able to get her to wear Cars shoes–even though they were made for boys! I would say most of our tools for helping our two girls with special needs involve Disney in some aspect, and I am thankful for that resource.

NDM309

Casey is a 29 year old wife and mother of four girls ages 7 and under. Two of her four children have been diagnosed with Albinism and Sensory Processing Disorder. As a result, her life can be challenging at times, but her family tries to add "Disney attitude" on a daily basis to make the hard times easier. Casey has gone to Walt Disney World every year since she was a young child and strives to carry out this annual tradition with her own children. But in between the trips, Casey and her family do their best to bring Disney into their daily lives.